In article >, Sheryl Rosen
> writes:
> Cindy
>Fuller at wrote on 12/20/03 2:04 AM:
>
>> I decided to host a Hanukkah party this year. (So I'm not Jewish, minor
>> detail.) We invited the neighbors and our friends from across town. I
>> made the sauerbraten out of the Jewish Holiday Kitchen and the latkes
>> from the NY Cookbook. The crosstown folks brought salad and dressing.
>> SO made the traditional South Florida Hanukkah dessert, key lime pie.
>> The sauerbraten was mighty tasty. The latkes were fine, but I needed to
>> cook the whole batch right away. The second round came out more like
>> hash browns--they were less cohesive than the first round. A good time
>> was had by all. The guests were sent home with loaves of the infamous
>> eggnog bread.
>>
>> Tomorrow we go next door for dinner and the Christmas light tour of
>> "Candy Cane Lane" a nearby neighborhood. It's good to be us.
>>
>> Cindy
>
>Hmm....perhaps they needed more egg or matzo meal?
>Am not familiar with the NY Cookbook recipe for latkes, so I don't know how
>much it calls for.
NYCookbook:
2 1/2lbs Idaho baking potatoes, unpeeled
1 lg yellow onion
2 eggs
1/4 cup matzoh meal
1 tsp salt
Then goes on with fercocktah crapola about shredding and food processors...
I peel and eye my spuds. Best tool for properly dispatching spuds for latkes
is one of those old fashioned "Safety Graters", looks like a rectangular tennis
raquette... or if in a hurry or need to make tons, then put spuds through a
meat grinder... let drain in a strainer (do not press out liquid) then
grate/grind in onion (I don't like too much onion, don't want onion latkes - 1
med. onion per 4lbs spuds is plenty). I also grind in a couple sheets of
matzoh (why bother buying matzoh meal when you have a grinder (2 sheets is
enough for 4lbs spuds). I don't like eggy tasting latkes, I use 1 egg per 4lbs
spuds. I use 1 Tbls kosher salt and 2-3 grinds pepper (white) per 4lbs spuds.
I don't like latkes with applesauce... I'm a sour cream guy, but mostly I like
latkes plain.
Essentially latkes is a personal experience, fix em how YOU like em... all said
the most important ingredient is the choice of frying oil, and the pan. And
don't drain latkes on paper towels (they impart a taste as well as sucking out
moisture), didja know paper towels are not food grade... I use butcher paper
for draining fried foods.
>My mom taught me the "Look and Feel" method of latke making. Basically, it's
>2-3 potatoes and one small onion, plus one large or jumbo egg, and enough
>matzo meal to hold it all together in a mound when it hits the oil. Salt and
>pepper to taste, but don't skimp on either. Chives if you want to be fancy.
>She didn't, I do, sometimes. Multiply as needed, depending on how hungry you
>are or how many people are coming for dinner! That's the "recipe". As I
>said to Margaret Suran 4 years ago "What recipe? Just grate some potatoes
>and onions, add eggs and matzo meal and fry them up!"
>
>Mom didn't squeeze the life outta the potatoes either....she left them
>somewhat moist, so the egg and the matzo meal formed a sort of "batter" with
>the potato water, and the potato shreds were sort of encapsulated in this
>potatoey batter. This resulted in latkes that were more solid than lacy.
>That's how we like them in my family.
>
>Am making them tonight with sour cream and applesauce and some meatballs.
>Tomorrow, for company, with pot roasted swiss steak and green bean
>casserole. MMMMMM had the lacy variety at someone's house last night. They
>were DELICIOUS. Different than mine, equally good. They had chives. Needed
>sour cream, though.
---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
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"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."